[forum] XFree86's Future and thoughts and suggestions

[James Boyden]

On Wednesday, 02 Apr 2003, Egbert Eich wrote:

> James Boyden writes:
> 
> > and especially,
> > * if coverage of a particular area is thin, or if the maintainers/experts
> >    for that area are the maintainers/experts "by default", this is a clear
> >    place where a new developer can feel they can make a difference.
> 
> Yes. I hope this is what will happen.
> 
> > 
> > This last point is possibly the most important in attracting new developers,
> > because it seems that new developers are often discouraged from contributing
> > to the project because the project is so massive, and there doesn't seem to
> > be anywhere the new developer can contribute and "make a difference".
> > 
> 
> OK, if this is the case we need to work on it.
> What do you think is the problem right now?
> The unpersonal way of handling fix submissions?
> The long time it takes for a fix to be processed?

I think enough people have complained about these former two points.
Besides, I've never submitted a fix myself, so I can't really complain.  ;)

But no, my point wasn't just about fixes, it was about new developers who
wish to add new functionality or enhance existing functionality.

Basically, you have a new, enthusiastic developer who would like to make
a contribution to the project, but then they look at the project and it's
so massive and everything seems to be either already complete or very
specialised and under the care of an experienced maintainer or expert.
So the new developer feels there is nowhere they can make a difference,
becomes discouraged, and loses enthusiasm.

As you say, the Bugzilla will remedy this to a certain extent, as now at
least a new developer can scan through the list of bugs, find something
which whey'd like to take a shot at, and feel that they're making a
positive contribution.

But there also needs to be a way for the new developer to do more than
just bug-fix: they need to be able to add new functionality, or work on
code which is already present -- and not everyone can come up with ideas
like "I'm going to rewrite the way XFree86 does fonts" or "I'm going to
add the ability to rotate the display" (or at least, they can't come up
with an idea they can actually implement).

A list of "holes" or "thin spots" in XFree86 maintainership or expertise
could give a new developer something they could target -- if no-one else
is currently working on that (other than an overtaxed developer who is
working on it or maintaining it because no-one else is) then the new
developer can immediately begin to make a positive contribution.

Likewise, a list of TO-DOs and projects (both currently active and needing
commencement) would be helpful in this regard.  [If this already exists on
the website or in the source tree, I apologise, but a quick search through
both turned up nothing.]

If you take a look at the GCC website <http://gcc.gnu.org>, they have
a list of projects:

	http://gcc.gnu.org/projects/

and, importantly, a list of projects suitable for "beginner GCC hackers":

	http://gcc.gnu.org/projects/beginner.html

which is aimed at "people who aren't intimately familiar with GCC's
internals".  Take a look at this page for more information.

Of course, both of these pages are apparently way out of date, but the
idea is there...

> Would a named list of maintainers make a difference?

To a certain extent, yes (for the reasons listed in the first three points
of my original mail, which have been elided).  But I think this list would
be _more_ useful if it were additionally annotated with information like
"this expert or maintainer only works on this area because there is no-one
else doing so -- this is not really their area of interest or expertise"
and "this expert or maintainer is happy to provide information on this
area to new developers, but is no longer engaged in active development",
as both of these then give the new developer points of "weakness" to
target with their efforts.


                                                    Jimmy.